DOW moving forward with Wounded Warriors Program

The Colorado Wildlife Commission announced Thursday that the Colorado Division of Wildlife will offer free hunting licenses this fall to combat veterans severely wounded while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As part of the military’s Wounded Warriors Program and the regulations of Colorado Senate Bill 10-211, the DOW will provide a free license to veterans for deer, elk and pronghorn antelope for the hunting season.

The wildlife commission approved the veteran license program during a monthly meeting hosted at the Holiday Inn of Craig.

“Offering free big-game licenses is just a small token of the gratitude we all feel toward the men and women who have served our country so courageously,” commission chairman Tim Glenn said in a news release. “We want them to know their sacrifice will not be forgotten.”

The offer applies to veterans who are either Colorado residents or serving in the state and have suffered a severe, combat-related injury and mobility impairment that requires the assistance of an attendant.

Licenses for antler-less deer, elk and pronghorn will be available for game management units with allocation of at least 100 for deer and elk, and 50 for doe pronghorn during rifle seasons.

Licenses will be capped at 10 per GMU or 2 percent of the total issued in the unit, whichever is greater, according to a news release.

For antlered game, licenses will only be issued for private land, and will be capped at five per GMU or 2 percent total, whichever is greater. Antlered tags will not be issued for Ranching for Wildlife properties or in units that take more than four resident preference points to draw.

For more information on the program and information on how to apply for licenses available to Wounded Warriors, call Erik Slater at (303) 291-7380.